KT Group to Supply Mongolian Resources Including Rare Earths Domestically
Collaboration in Finance, Healthcare, DX, and Media... Expanding Digico Success
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo has been appointed as Mongolia's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), becoming the first foreign business executive to hold this position. He will support the acceleration of Mongolia's digital policies across various sectors including government, finance, healthcare, digital, and media. Additionally, KT plans to collaborate with the Mongolian government to supply minerals produced in Mongolia, such as rare earth elements, to South Korea.
On the 26th, KT announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to supply Mongolian mineral resources, including rare earth elements, to South Korea at the KT-Mongolia strategic cooperation signing event held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. The event was attended by KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo and Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai.
CEO Koo stated, "This cooperation with Mongolia in resource, finance, healthcare, media, and other diverse business areas marks the official start of the expanded DigiCo strategy," adding, "We will expand KT's growth strategies and know-how developed over the past three years into a global DigiCo strategy, making this year the first year to lead the development of domestic and international industries and global growth."
KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo is attending and presenting at the 'KT, AI Strategy Press Conference' held on the 16th at the Sofitel Ambassador Seoul Grand Ballroom in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
MOU Signed to Supply Over 80 Types of Mineral Resources Including Rare Earth Elements
Mongolia is one of the world's top 10 resource-rich countries. It possesses large quantities of over 80 types of minerals including rare earth elements (holding 16% of the world's reserves), copper, fluorite, gold, iron, and zinc. Rare earth elements, in particular, are key mineral resources used in various future-value industries such as renewable energy, electronic products, and automotive parts.
Since last year, KT has been cooperating to digitalize various industrial sectors in Mongolia in line with Mongolia's national development strategy, the New Recovery Policy. The MOU signed during the KT-Mongolia digital transformation (DX) cooperation process is expected to significantly contribute not only to Mongolia's industrial development but also to the advancement of future-value industries in South Korea.
Based on this MOU, KT has established a stable foundation to prioritize the supply of various mineral resources produced in Mongolia, including rare earth elements, to multiple industries in South Korea. KT plans to discuss and develop specific supply plans with the government and domestic industries in the future.
KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo Appointed as Mongolia’s First Foreign CTO... Leading Digitalization
On this day, CEO Koo was appointed as Mongolia’s national CTO through an inauguration ceremony, becoming the first foreign business executive to hold this position.
The Mongolian government announced the New Recovery Policy in 2021 as a mid-term national development strategy to boost economic growth and established the Ministry of Digital Development in May 2022 to promote the 'Digital Mongolia' strategy for the digitalization of all industries in Mongolia. To effectively achieve the goals of the New Recovery Policy and Digital Mongolia, the Mongolian government appointed CEO Koo as Mongolia’s CTO and plans to accelerate Mongolia’s digitalization by adopting KT’s successful DigiCo (digital platform company) strategy and know-how.
This appointment recognizes KT’s DX capabilities based on its DigiCo strategy.
The KT Group has formed a working group for the digital transformation of key Mongolian industries such as finance, healthcare, digital, and media, establishing a close mutual cooperation system including consulting for the Mongolian government.
Partnerships in Finance, Healthcare, Digital, Media, and Other DX-Based Businesses
Along with the inauguration ceremony, the KT Group signed business contracts and MOUs across various industries including finance (business contracts), healthcare, DX, and media. KT plans to expand its DigiCo success strategy globally, starting with Mongolia’s digitalization.
As the first achievement in developing DigiCo business with Mongolia, the KT Group signed an N2N (Korea-Mongolia card payment linkage) business contract between the Bank of Mongolia and BC Card. The signing ceremony held at the Bank of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar was attended by BC Card President Choi Won-seok and Bank of Mongolia Governor Lkhagvasuren Byadran.
The N2N business contract connects the payment networks between Korea and Mongolia. Mongolian T-Cards issued by the Bank of Mongolia can be used on BC Card payment terminals and ATMs in Korea. Approximately 70% of Mongolian citizens use T-Cards as a payment method. Going forward, about 100,000 Mongolians visiting Korea annually will enjoy more convenient payment services.
Additionally, BC Card is negotiating with the Bank of Mongolia to establish a national integrated payment system and acquiring system to efficiently improve the payment infrastructure in Mongolia. This payment system construction will reduce costs for Mongolian commercial banks and merchants while significantly enhancing the Bank of Mongolia’s management functions. BC Card is also in discussions with Mongolia’s Ministry of Social Labor and Welfare to introduce Korean-style electronic vouchers, increasing the potential for the global expansion of Korea’s excellent welfare system.
On the same day, KT Digital & Bio Health Business Unit Head Lim Seung-hyuk, Mongolian Minister of Health Chinzorig Sodnom, and Lee Jae-woon, Head of Business Strategy at Hanaro Medical Foundation, signed a tripartite MOU to establish a health screening center in Mongolia. Through this MOU, they will build and operate an ICT-based health screening center and cooperate on one of Mongolia’s three national policy tasks, ‘Creating Healthy Mongolians.’ The construction of a Korean-style ICT-based health screening center will greatly contribute to improving the health and quality of life of Mongolians as well as the development of Mongolia’s healthcare industry.
Furthermore, KT signed an MOU for Mongolia’s digital transformation with KT Global Business Director Moon Sung-wook and Mongolian Minister of Digital Development Uchral Nyam-Osor in attendance. KT will provide national DX consulting for Mongolia’s digital transformation and promote projects such as a global-level Internet Data Center (IDC) business and AI-based industrial efficiency improvements in Mongolia.
Kim Cheol-yeon, CEO of KT Studio Genie, and Bat-Erdene Bat-Ulzii, Minister of Mongolia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, signed an MOU to promote Korea-Mongolia cultural exchange and the development of Mongolian culture and tourism. Marking the Year of Mongolian Tourism (2023?2025), they plan to explore the production of high-quality content related to Mongolian tourism, including entertainment, variety shows, and documentaries, to encourage and promote tourism between the two countries.
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